Art and an Eternal Bastion in Second Life

The world is changing in multiples way. From politics through economics to climate, everything is in flux; and in the case of the first in particular, established norms so long a part of our lives are being torn down, or at least remodelled into something unfamiliar – and not necessarily better. Foundations we once believed to be firm and unchanging are crumbling, and we are increasingly faced with daily confusion and uncertainty. Given this, it is essential we have a place of silence and solitude; a place where we can have room to breathe, to think, to regain clarity. This is the central theme offered by Sophie de Saint Phalle in her latest installation Eternal Bastion, which recently opened at SLEA 8, and will remain so for the next 6 months. This is something of an interactive installation, featuring Sophie’s copper etchings and lithographs, which visitors are invited to explore in light of the core theme for the installation, and the need for a sense of stability and peace.

The ETERNAL BASTION is one such place: Beyond the noise, beyond the headlines.

It stands for our innermost self — the centre, the core, the untouched soul. A bastion on an island — far away, and yet only a spiritual sea journey from your own inner self. But to get there you often have to travel through the darkness.

To truly see, we must first close our eyes. The blindfold becomes a paradox: it covers the visible world so that another one is revealed — an inner world, an invisible truth. In the darkness, another light emerges: A view, not of the eye, but of the mind.

– Sophie de Saint Phalle, Eternal Bastion

On arrival, visitors will be asked to join the local Experience, which enables the auto-teleport. The Landing Point, a small outcropping of rock – one of three – lying off the coast of the main installation island, features a plinth and a circle of slowly rotating, floating stones. The former offers an introduction to the installation, a blindfold and a note to step through the floating stones when ready. The instructions should be read for the full context for the installation, while the blindfold is an illustrative means of representing the one Sophie references in her introduction.

Providing you have accepted the local Experience and shared environment, and you’ve enabled both local sounds and the music stream for the installation, walk through the slowly rotating floating stones to be teleported to the main installation island. It is here that a massive edifice of basalt columns, concrete blocks and glass resides. It stands as a cross between a modern take on a cathedral and a kind of fortress of solitude. It ideally represents the idea of an inner world, a place in which we can feel safe – and contemplative.  Within this structure, beautifully illuminated with point lights, hang Sophie’s etchings and lithographs.

Those familiar with Sophie’s work may recognise these from her own Subcutan gallery, about which I’ve written on several occasions within these pages, and / or her 2022 installation Cyborgs (see: Art and Cyborgs in Second Life). That they have been seen / used before doe not make their use any less impactful here; they are vivid and carry a depth of narrative which greatly encourages contemplation and (potentially) self-reflection within the framework of the installation’s central theme. Surrounding the “fortress” are grounds overlooking the surrounding sea and offering points of interest – waterfalls, sculptures (one of which is by Sophie) and a stone grotto overlooking one of Lia Woodget’s sailing vessels.  I think the latter may have been left over from the opening event, offering as it does a bar, cabins and clay pigeon (skeet) shooting. It does not appear to be connected to the rest of the installation via teleport (unless I missed it), so I wasn’t sure quite what to make of it. The above aside, Eternal Bastion is a deeply engaging and thought-provoking installation.

SLurl Details

• Eternal Bastion (SLEA 8, rated Moderate)